


THE ROAD AHEAD

by Captain_FrightNite



Category: Supernatural
Genre: The Empty (Supernatural)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:35:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27566863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_FrightNite/pseuds/Captain_FrightNite
Summary: Set in Episode 18. (Written before the episode aired. First fanfic ever written.)Sam, Dean and Michael team up after learning they need Lucifer's help to translate the last half of God's death book, but in order to do that, they must make their way through the empty. While Sam and Michael have a task at hand to convince the devil to play their game ... Dean has plans of his own. Find Cas.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	1. Empty Pages

The change of atmosphere in the bunker sent a cold chill down everyone’s spines the very second Michael opened the door. The four of them stood there, silently staring through the long, dark rip that had been torn through the fabric of the universe. Time and space had no meaning there and had never existed within the empty, and only Jack knew what awaited them on the other side. Sam and Dean watched on as drops of black goo oozed its way out of the tear and onto the hard-wooden floor below, where it seemed to crackle with some other-worldly electrical current. Jack noticed this and knew that was his doing.  
“Sam, are you sure you want to do this?” Adam asked, staring uncomfortably into the deep abyss that awaited them. Sam took a deep breath and nodded.   
“We have to,” he replied, “It’s the only way we’ll beat Chuck.”  
Unfortunately, Michael was only able to read the first half of Chuck’s ‘death book,’ until it became blindly obvious that they required the help of God’s other favourite son.   
Lucifer.

Sam let go of the breath he’d been holding onto and turned to look at his brother. The older Winchester was busy staring directly into the doorway, knowing that somewhere in that God-forsaken place was his best friend, and he was determined that come hell or high water, he was going to get Cas out.  
“Dean. Dean?”  
Dean jumped slightly and turned to glance at Sam.  
“You good?”   
Sam already knew the answer, the real answer, but he wasn’t about to push his brother into admitting anything now, not when they were about to walk into something they had absolutely no control over. Flicking his eyes between Sam and the doorway, Dean cleared his throat a little louder than he’d intended, almost giving himself away.  
“Yeah,” he replied, swallowing nervously, “I’m good.”  
Sam mumbled a quick “Okay,” before securing Chuck’s book just a little closer to his chest. There was absolutely no way he was going to lose that damn thing in there. That book was everything to them right now and if they lost it …

“Okay, everyone knows what they’re doing when they get in there?” Dean asked, pulling an angel blade from his back pocket. He had absolutely zero idea if the blade even work in that place since literally everything in there was already dead, but if offered a familiar sense of comfort having some kind of weapon in his hands. Adam took a breath and nodded, allowing Michael to take full control of his body. Together, Sam, Dean and Michael would go in search of Lucifer and use whatever means they could to make him read the last few pages of the book, while Jack stayed behind to keep the doorway open. There was no use sending the kid back into that place, especially after what had happened.   
Dean took one last side glance at his brother who gave him a short nod of assurance before all three of them proceeded to walk forward into the unknown.


	2. Darkness Incarnate

Three seconds of standing in a void of pure nothingness and already Sam and Dean were on their knees, clutching their heads and crying out in agony as flashes of every horrible memory began to fill their minds. Loss, grief, pain, every torture experienced in hell that the boys had ever experienced was replayed on them tenfold, like it was happening in that very moment. Dean screamed as he felt his body carelessly flung back on the rack, giant hooks ripping into his sides and legs, holding him in place. All the while Sam was being pinned against the cage bars, staring up fearfully into two red eyes that held an evil in its purest form.  
Michael stared down at the brothers in shock and placed a hand on both their heads to stop whatever force had taken hold of their minds. This was indeed no place for humans, or anyone for that matter. Gasping for breath, Sam and Dean blinked a few times trying desperately to block out the booming voices that still rampaged loudly in their ears. 

“Ahh, son of a bitch” Dean groaned, covering his ears which had begun to bleed moments before. “Why can I still hear them?”   
Michael frowned and glanced about wildly in every direction like a cornered wolf, seeing everything the brothers could not. Angels and demons, all of them blindly fighting one another in a desperate attempt to escape the emptyness they’d suddenly found themselves in, but it was the thing that stalked them in the shadows that made Michael wish they’d never left the door open.  
“It’s not the memories you’re hearing,” he replied, shouting over the multitude of voices that filled every endless space that had once been the home to silence.  
“Well, what is it?” Sam asked loudly. He too was covering his ears like it would somehow dull the sound. Michael took a deep breath, still keeping a steady eye on the creature that seemed to give off the same electrical spark the doorway had when they were first about to enter.  
“They’re awake.”  
Dean looked up, and for a moment a flicker of true fear filled his eyes, “Who is?”  
Michael finally turned to look at Dean. “Everyone.”  
“You can see them?” Sam asked. Michael nodded but kept his eyes fixed firmly on the shadow in the distance.  
“Do you see Cas?” Dean asked. The tiny crack in his brother’s voice would have broken Sam’s heart if they weren’t currently in very real danger. Michael’s eyes glowed a dangerous blue as he clenched his jaw, turned and began walking in the opposite direction.  
“Come on. We need to move quickly,” the archangel replied, not daring to give the man an answer. Dean barely had a moment to glance at Sam in confusion before they were both practically jogging to keep up with him.


	3. Oh Brother, My Brother

How long had they been searching, Dean wondered. Hours, days, weeks … years? It was strange wandering around in a place where absolutely nothing existed, yet there was sound all around them. Occasionally the brothers would feel something yank on their sleeve or bump into them, sending them falling to the ground, only to get up and see nothing there. Sam and Dean were beginning to think there was far more going on around them than Michael was letting on. That thought was quickly interrupted however when the archangel suddenly halted in his tracks, staring ahead with a strange look in his eyes.  
“Michael?” Sam asked, nervously.  
Michael adjusted his stance as though stating his dominance to some unseen enemy. The boys looked around for a moment still seeing nothing but darkness.

“Michael.”

An icy cold shiver ran down all three of their spines when they heard the deep, rumbling voice echo from somewhere within that dark space. Readying himself with the angel blade, Dean glanced stared ahead as a dark figure with blood red eyes slowly made its way into view. Sam could feel beads of sweat forming all over his body as the nightmares that had haunted him for years tried to force their way to the surface.   
They hadn’t found Lucifer … he found them.

“Hello brother,” Michael said, his voice sounding ever so human for the first time in his life. The shadow began to merge into the original form he had taken for many years prior to his death and Sam could feel himself shifting ever so slightly behind his brother. Even after all those years spent with him in the cage, the Devil still had a firm grip on the little brother. Lucifer breathed deep and took them all in, studying and smelling them one by one as if they were nothing more than his next meal.  
“Sam … Dean,” Lucifer spoke calmly but the malice behind his voice was indescribable. He crossed his arms and stared at the three so called heroes. “Whatever can I do for you?”  
Michael took a step forward, placing himself between the hunters and the thing that used to be his little brother. The boys never would have noticed it, but the oldest archangel had spread out his mighty, gold wings as wide as they would go, shielding them from Lucifer’s gaze.  
“Really?” Lucifer lazily asked, watching his brother show off his far superior wingspan than the chicken wings he’d been reduced to. “Okay, enough small talk. Why are you here?”  
“The book,” Dean stated, a little colder than intended. He knew they had to somehow get on Lucifer’s good side but the thing standing before him was far lower than any monster Dean had ever gone up against.   
“What book?”  
“Chuck’s book,” came Sam’s reply. Lucifer smiled and looked straight through his brother’s wings, burning his eyes into Sam’s. He still had a deep longing for his pet and would gladly have the man tied up on a tight leash by his side, worshipping the very ground he stood on.   
“Ohh Sammy, did you miss me?” Lucifer taunted, “Is that why you’re really here?”  
“You shut your damn mouth,” Dean snapped, taking a dangerous step forward, earning himself a glance from Lucifer that seemed to almost dare him to take another step. Michael held up a hand and gave Dean a stern look of warning, who sighed in defeat and glared back at the devil. They weren’t here for a fight, they needed information and if Lucifer wouldn’t give it to them then they had nothing to work with, other than a few notes they’d made from the first half of the book. Amara could now hold flowers in her hands without destroying them but Jack couldn’t, and something about a ‘doorway to doubt’ would be opened and ‘the lost shall be released unto the world,’ whatever the hell that meant.

“Lucifer, listen to me,” Michael began, “Our father has returned to earth, and he’s destroyed every single world he’s ever created and now he’s coming for this one.”  
“Hmmm, and I should care why?” Lucifer asked.  
“Damn it, Lucifer, we're running out of time!” Dean shouted, clearly losing his patience, “We can only read half of Chuck’s book and Metatron said some crap about God leaving his secret fear with his ‘favourite,’ and if I remember correctly, that was you.”  
Lucifer chuckled, “So you want me to read it for you, is that it?”  
“Yes!”  
“Hmm. Uhh, let me think about it … no,” Lucifer said, turning to walk away. All three glanced at each other nervously. Absolutely nothing was going to plan and for all they knew Chuck may have completely destroyed their world by now. Sam, on the other hand, had one idea left.  
“Lucifer!” he called out, pushing his way forward to stand almost a foot away from the monster that had taken almost everything away from him.   
“Sam, what are you doin’?” Dean asked nervously, reaching out a hand as if he could somehow pull him back.  
“You want to leave this place, right?” Sam asked. He knew what he was about to offer was going against absolutely everything they had worked for, everything they stood for, but there was truly no other way. Lucifer paused and turned around, facing Sam with a quiet expectation.  
“We can get you out.”  
Sam was sure the tremble in his voice would have certainly given him away and he’d be torn to pieces right there and then, but instead the devil studied him closely for a long moment.   
“I’m listening.”


	4. Take Me Back

Dean, who was already panicking over whatever master plan Sam had in store, whirled around madly with the blade when he heard a low, static growl coming from behind him.   
“The hell is that?” he asked, more to himself than anyone else. He squinted his eyes but trying to find a shadow in a place of eternal darkness was a futile effort, but he knew there was something out there. Watching. Waiting.  
“Michael?” Dean asked.  
The archangel ignored him, too busy watching the interaction between devil and vessel, unsure if it was truly about to end the way it was always meant to. Sam was busy explaining about the back door they’d opened to the empty, and how if Lucifer could only translate the last few pages, they’d help him escape. A thought suddenly occurred to him and Michael wondered if any of this was real. What if God was writing this? What if Chuck had planned this to happen all along and none of it was actually ever written in the book? The whole time Chuck had made them believe the words they had read, but it was all just … ‘script.’   
Michael could feel the grace in his wings buzzing like a swarm of bees, filling his entire being. Something was wrong, it was all wrong. None of this was even their choice!

“AHH!”  
Michael whirled around to see the same dark shadow that had been stalking them from the start, now pinning Dean to the ground and gnashing its long, sharp jaws at his neck. Sam turned, hearing his brother cry out and suddenly became all too aware of the thousands of angels and demons that were now staring directly at them, teeth bared and eyes blazing deep reds and blues. The explosion Jack caused in the empty had clearly done more damage than they ever could have anticipated.  
“Dean!”  
Sam and Michael moved to help him but Dean shook his head, ordering them back.  
“Ahhh, sonofabitch!” Dean grunted, trying to keep the creature at bay, “Don't worry about me. Just translate the damn thing!”  
Michael looked up from Dean and noticed the incoming stampede of good and evil which had recently been corrupted into pure, unrelenting hunger.   
“Damn it, I’ll hold them off. Lucifer, do it now!” Michael yelled, before a burst of bright light flew from his hands building a wall against the horde that threatened to engulf them. Sam quickly handed over the book to Lucifer who studied the younger Winchester for a long moment. 

“Here. Read it!” Sam ordered. Angels and demons were now pounding against the wall Michael had built, and he wasn’t sure how long it would hold.  
“You’ve changed, Sam,” the devil remarked, “You’re not the scared little boy I once knew.”  
“Lucifer, we don’t have time! Just read it!” Sam yelled, glancing back at his brother who was now starting to lose the battle. His breath hitched when he noticed his brother was now bleeding profusely from his arms and neck, and the ever-present spark in his green eyes was starting to go out. Sam quickly realised that Dean was giving up, giving into whatever painful death awaited him, because that was easier than the hell he was trapped in.  
“No,” he mumbled, turning to Lucifer with tears now forming in his eyes, “Please. Please!”  
Lucifer chuckled and opened the book, flipping through it page by page as slowly as he desired. The words began to burn through the white pages, leaving red enchocian scripture that would only be read by one ‘angel.’  
The creature slashed another clawed hand across Dean’s chest, spraying blood into the empty where the darkness seemed to engulf it. He could feel the energy draining from his body as the monster continued to rip him apart. Dean took a second to glance up at the things face and gasped when he noticed somewhere behind the black strands of goo that covered it’s eyes, was a very familiar blue.

“… Cas?”


	5. For Love ... For Life

Dean stared up at the creature in shock. Surely that monstrosity couldn’t be him, it was unrelenting, evil and everything that his angel was not, but if that was Cas, Dean had a duty to bring him back from whatever darkness had pulled him under.  
“Cas … I don’t know if that’s you in there, but if it is, you need to fight this,” Dean grunted, still holding up the thing that seemed to weigh as heavily as the darkness surrounding them. The creature snarled at him and tried to lunge at his throat again, barely missing him by an inch. “Cas, please!”   
Every now and then the colour in its eyes would flash a brilliant blue before long tendrils of black would wrap itself over the top, as if it was trying to keep something in. The sounds all around them were practically drowning out Dean’s desperate cries, as Michael’s wall of light slowly started to disintegrate with every wild demon or angel that fell against it.  
“Lucifer, hurry up!” Michael yelled, his arms shaking from the pressure. Lucifer was savouring every moment and taking all the time in the world which left Sam in near hysterics. It was like watching his brother be torn apart by hellhounds all over again. What would happen to his soul if he died in here? Sam didn’t want to think about it.

Dean could feel the hot, red liquid filling his lungs as he begged the thing to let him go. “Cas, listen to me. What you said … back when I lost you. I never, ahh, I never had the chance to say anything back,” Dean choked, feeling warm tears and blood stream down his face. The thing paused but continued to growl as it pinned him to the cold, hard ground.  
“Billy was coming through the door, and you were telling me all these things, and I just … I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t think. I just ... I froze. All I knew was that I was about to lose the one person in the whole world w-who would ever l-love me … completely.” Dean was practically sobbing by this point. His whole world was crashing down around him but he'd be damned if he didn't tell Cas what he'd wanted to say for years.  
“I’m s-… I’m sorry I never had the chance t-to say it,” he gasped before coughing harshly, blood now beginning to run down the corner of his mouth. “I should have told you … ev-every damn day, b-but I’m telling you now.”   
Dean’s breaths came out in shallow gasps as he stared up into the thing’s eyes, willing it to believe him, willing Cas to believe him.  
“I love you, sunshine ... I love you.”  
Dean reached a hand up to gently rest it on what he thought would be Cas’ cheek, and gently caressed it as though it could somehow bring his angel back from the edge.  
“Let’s go home,” Dean begged, “I can fix this, all of it. Everything. We’ll do whatever you want. We’ll have p-picnics and cook breakfast together ev-every morning and I’ll make you watch those dumb cowboy movies a h-hundred times until you get sick of me,” Dean half chuckled, before having to blink the oncoming darkness away.   
“I might have changed you, Cas ... but you saved me. So for once … just once … let me save you.”  
One final low growl emerged from somewhere deep within the thing’s chest as the dark liquid that covered it began to seep onto the ground, where it sizzled and dissipated into the world around it.  
“Dean?”   
For the first time in an awfully long time, Dean smiled. It was soft, genuine and lasted for only a moment before that Winchester spark in his green eyes flickered once and faded away. The angel watched on in stunned silence as the man’s gentle grip on his cheek quickly lessened and slid to the unforgiving ground.   
“Dean. Dean?!” Cas yelled, shaking the man’s shoulders desperately. “Dean!”

With a loud crash behind them, Michael’s wall came tearing down sending him tumbling backwards. Lucifer has finally managed to translate the last few pages and Sam knew there was nothing for it but to run like hell back to the doorway and pray to … God? … that maybe, just maybe, they’d make it back in time. Sam snatched the book from Lucifer’s grasp and ran to his brother, who now lay cold and motionless in Castiel’s arms.  
“…no. No no no no no,” Sam mumbled incoherently to himself, running both hands through his already messy hair. This wasn’t happening, he thought. It couldn’t be happening, not now. They had just found the answer to stop Chuck!  
“Sam, we don’t have time, let’s move!” Michael ordered, who was now snatching Dean’s body out of Cas’ grip and hauling him over his shoulder like he weighed nothing. Castiel knelt on the cold ground in shock, staring at his blood-covered hands. Had he just killed the man he loved? Or was it the thing that took hold of him?  
“Cas, come on!” Sam cried, trying to wipe away the tears and haul Cas to his feet at the same time. Cas stared up at him hopelessly, tears now streaming from his bloodshot eyes.  
“Sam … I’m sorry.”  
“Don’t worry about it right now, we just gotta get out of here!” Sam yelled, grabbing hold of the angel’s trench coat and pushing him towards the direction they’d come from. There was absolutely no way Sam could let himself go there, not when there was an entire army of seriously pissed off zombies chasing them down. All four of them were now bolting for the door, Michael leading the charge with Dean carelessly tossed over his right shoulder, followed by Sam, Castiel and Lucifer at the rear. The hoard was gaining on them, but the light flowing from the bunker could be seen streaming through the door only a few strides away. Jack’s face quickly came into view as he urged them to run faster. Dark tendrils began to reach up out of the ground almost wrapping around their ankles, threatening to drag them back to nothing. They were a few feet from the door when Jack suddenly disappeared, and Chuck took his place.  
“Nice try, boys.”   
“No, Chuck, don’t!” Sam yelled and lunged at for door with whatever strength he had left. With one quick snap of God’s fingers, the door slammed shut, leaving them in complete and total darkness.

BLACKOUT.


End file.
